LOTRO

[K73SK]

Surprised to not find any topics for this game in here! Anyone else play it or like it? It's probably the only MMO that I've actually enjoyed playing without having to just quit and never go back to it...Not to mention it's FREE! :)

[Sagacious-T]

It's not really free though, it's just not subscription based.

I played the game a bit but overall it's just not a very high quality experience. Typical MMO fare that's really uninspired.

[K73SK]

What's not free about it? I haven't found a situation at all to where I had to pay for anything yet, and I've got about 48 hours of gameplay so far...I don't get much time to play, but yeah I haven't found myself paying anything.

They do have an in-game store to where you can buy additional features with their own currency, but the thing is that you get that currency by finishing quests in the game...So you really don't have to pay anything at all in real life if you don't want to.

Of course it has some quests that are typical for MMO's, but a lot of them are indeed unique. I'm used to MMO's where it's only quests like "send this over there" and "kill x amount of these guys and you win." LOTRO has these, yes, but it also has quests that you wouldn't normally do in other MMO's (seriously, carrying a bucket of water to purify a well in a town? Where have you seen that done?). Plus they keep up to date with updates often...Almost always something new to do.

[Annubis]

At about lvl 20 or something like that, the zones have no quests and you can't do the dungeons unless you pay to unlock them.

[K73SK]

And when was that? Because as far as I've been throughout the game (level 14-15 atm), there have been tons of quests and dungeons available to me. The locations I know are inaccessible are Moria and the other expansions...But that's because they're expansion packs. Perhaps you ran into those locations at level 20 (which is quite the distance). Ever think that maybe you were too far in the game at level 20 and perhaps quests were inaccessible to you because of your low number? Not that I'm saying it's why, but just a thought.

[Sagacious-T]

When you get to level 20, you must pay for content other than simple grinding. That's all there is to it. Free To Play is just an extended preview.

[Annubis]

Ever think that maybe you were too far in the game at level 20 and perhaps quests were inaccessible to you because of your low number?

I'm level 48, though I haven't played in a while. Most of my friends stopped too.

[Esper_Crusader]

I downloaded the game last night and played for a couple of hours.  Seems o.k. Pretty much like WoW as far as I can tell.  I've never been into the whole MMO thing all that much either. I stopped playing DCU after a couple of months on my PS3. I didn't think it warranted $15 a month out of my pocket. LOTRO looks and plays well enough on this shitty computer though.:)

[K73SK]

When you get to level 20, you must pay for content other than simple grinding. That's all there is to it. Free To Play is just an extended preview.

When you guys say more content, if you're referring to more quest packs and locations around Middle Earth to actually do stuff, then that's not when you hit lvl 20. It could happen when you're lvl 1, it just happens when you get outside your quest pack location. I could be level 65 within the three quest packs available to free players and still be able to do anything a free player can do. Your character level doesn't have anything to do with it, so you know.

[Sagacious-T]

When you get to level 20, you must pay for content other than simple grinding. That's all there is to it. Free To Play is just an extended preview.

When you guys say more content, if you're referring to more quest packs and locations around Middle Earth to actually do stuff, then that's not when you hit lvl 20. It could happen when you're lvl 1, it just happens when you get outside your quest pack location. I could be level 65 within the three quest packs available to free players and still be able to do anything a free player can do. Your character level doesn't have anything to do with it, so you know.

Yeah you could be grinding mobs pointless like a schmuck with that "Free" pack, not experiencing any worthwhile or fun content.

[Annubis]

What he said, and I believe level caps are 50/60/65 respective to the purchase of expansions.

[K73SK]

Yeah you could be grinding mobs pointless like a schmuck with that "Free" pack, not experiencing any worthwhile or fun content.

If lvling is all you care about, yes. But some of us enjoy the fun unique quests and features the game offers rather than worrying about a number. The level I am is the least of my concerns in lotro.

[Annubis]

Yeah you could be grinding mobs pointless like a schmuck with that "Free" pack, not experiencing any worthwhile or fun content.

If lvling is all you care about, yes. But some of us enjoy the fun unique quests and features the game offers rather than worrying about a number. The level I am is the least of my concerns in lotro.

We understand you love the game, but please stop denying everything we're saying. You're basically not listening to anything we've said.
First of all, if you did read, you'd know that we've said you cannot quest when you leave Bree land. The starter zones (for every race) and Bree land are all free to play, but the moment you complete those, the rest of the areas pretty much require payment to do anything there other than killing random mobs on the world map. Although, if you play very scarcely, the free zones might keep you entertained for a while. If not here is the actual paychart:

http://forums.lotro.com/showthread.php?347917-LOTRO-Store-Full-Price-List

The quest packs enable quests + dungeons for those zones. Expansions do the same for the zones in the expansion.
The rest is optional, but I heavily suggest the following:
- Skirmishes (they are fun and also very rewarding)
- 4th bag
- 5th bag
- Gold cap removal
- Trait slot (Virtue, Race, Class and Legendary)

[Maxximum]

Man, someone is in denial here.
Just the fact its got the EA logo should make it obvious that this game requires payment at some point. If you want a free WoW clone try Runes of Magic. It has the "paying makes things easy" plan, but as far as I know you can get by just fine without spending any real money.

[John]

Just the fact its got the EA logo should make it obvious that this game requires payment at some point.

Wait, what?

Lord of the Rings Online was developed by Turbine and published by WBIE.  EA has nothing to do with it.

EA's MMOs are Ultima Online, Dark Age of Camelot, and Warhammer Online.